Avon Road, in Rochester, Michigan, dead-ends into Adams Road
Just southeast of Meadow Brook Music Festival
It’s a road my family traveled often on our way home
And for about a 9 month period when I was in my early teens
I had a recurrent experience with a stunning wisteria tree
Which sat in a yard a few houses east of the light
If we were the 7th or 8th car in line, I could view this tree out the passenger window
And when I did
The tree played with me
It was a specific exchange
I consider it the most spiritual experience of my life
And I’ve tried to reconnect to this tree specifically
And to any part of nature in general in the same way
But, no dice
What happened, time and again, when all the conditions were right
Is that as I gazed upon the tree
I felt her gazing back at me
The space between the tree and me remained the same
But the distance collapsed entirely
I could go back and forth between regular gazing
And this kind of communion
And the tree seemed amused that I would do that
And, as weird as this sounds
The tree acted as a kind of portal
In that, when I was in the orientation of communion
I felt like I could understand the whole world through her
She was the focal point
Through which everything was more intimate than what I normally experienced
It would last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.
These two states were visually distinct
Like when you look exclusively through your right eye, and then through your left
And it even had a physical sensation - subtle but pervasive
It was absolutely fascinating and truly fun.
I loved it when our ride home included Avon Road
Though it was still dependent on being stopped for the light
This was not something that could be achieved in a drive-by.
Genuinely curious if this was something others experienced, I mentioned it to someone I respected
Who suggested it sounded occult, and I was young, and it was dangerous and probably not good
I still regret heeding that advice
Because no amount of will has been able to recreate the sensations and perceptual shift that tree offered
And, here, most of my life later, I recognize that kind of communion
As my highest aspiration
Jack Kornfield has a book
After the Ecstasy, The Laundry
Detailing the longing that often takes place
In the aftermath of a profound spiritual experience
I’ve found that book very helpful, and am going to pull it out and read it again
But what is alive for me today as I reminisce about that gift
Is the total shift in perception that tree afforded me
And the world beyond it that became palpable
It was absolutely heavenly
And it was right there, on Avon Road
